Right-to-work laws and union density: New evidence from micro data

Redefining the right-to-work debate: Unions and the dilemma of free choice

“…Haggard's (1990) bibliography reported that nearly 50 empirical studies of RTW laws were conducted between the late 1950s and 1990. Although the RTW issue has not been as popular in the 1990s as it was in the past, RTW studies have continued to accumulate (Davis and Huston, 1995;Sobel, 1995;Chaison and Dhavale, 1992;Garofalo and Malhotra, 1992;Zax and Ichniowski, 1991;Canak and Miller, 1990). Unfortunately, the two empirical streams of this research barrage have not definitively indicated whether unions are weakened by RTW laws.…”

“…During the 1990s, several scholars departed from the traditional economic studies of RTW laws to focus broadly on the free-rider hypothesis (Sobel, 1995;Davis and Huston, 1993;Chaison and Dhavale, 1992;Zax and Ichniowski, 1991). This work sought to identify who becomes free riders and to resolve some contradictions in RTW research (Sobel, 1995, pp.…”

The Continuing Controversy over Right-to-Work Laws in the Early Twenty-First Century

“…In order to contextualize this research finding, it should be mentioned that the two former geographic areas listed above are composed of states without RTW laws while the latter region contains numerous states which have enacted RTW laws. Davis and Huston (1995) also have found that employees residing in RTW states are much less likely to become union members than comparable employees living in non-RTW states. Hogler et al (2004) discovered that RTW legislation reduces union density by 8.8%, independent of attitudes expressed concerning labor organizations.…”

“…Throughout the 1970s, the amounts of free riders in RTW states and non-RTW states was 13.3% and 7.5% (Katz 1985), respectively; in 1985, the figures were 15.5% and 6.4% (Davis and Huston 1995), respectively while from 1989 to 1991, the numbers were 17.3% and 7.4% (Sobel 1995). Moreover, Davis & Huston's (1995) study estimates that if RTW laws were eliminated, free riding in RTW states would drop from 15.5% to 7.2%.…”

Three essays on the influence of formal institutions on entrepreneurship.

“…enactment more likely. However, Davis and Huston (1995) and Moore (1998) both found that right-to-work laws are associated with lower union densities even when accounting for the simultaneity bias problem.…”